Hero of the Soviet Union
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The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state
Marshal Georgy Zhukov (center) wearing three Hero of the Soviet Union medals and Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky (right) wearing two (1945)
Soldiers of the Red Army's 129th Rifle Division lift their comrades, awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, in celebration, 1943.
Hero of Soviet Union obelisk of Saint Petersburg.
Hero-Fortress of Brest
Yuri Gagarin
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Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first person to journey into outer space during the first successful crewed spaceflight. He was launched from the Baikonur Cos
Hero of the Soviet Union
…persons had been awarded it on the occasions of their birthdays rather than for any immediate heroic activity. All Soviet cosmonauts, starting from Yuri Gagarin, as well as foreign citizens from non-capitalist countries who participated in the Soviet space program as cosmonauts, received a Hero award for each…
Gagarin in 1963
Gagarin family home in Klushino
Gagarin as an air cadet in the Saratov flying club c. 1954
Gagarin's Vostok 3KA capsule and an effigy of him on display at the RKK Energiya museum in 2010